Building Bugs - the new BugCrusher08

Things have been busy behind the scenes in BugWorld - I've been trying to streamline my ways of producing devices. Last month I brought out the diminutive PostcardWeevil (which has gone down well!) - my first foray into Pro PCBs (from Futurlec) - and now comes the first box, a new and powerful version of the BugCrusher.

The use of ProPCBs opens up some new techniques and the theory is that I can make things much more replicatable, while also packing more features in. To be honest, there's still plenty of figuring to be done - both on what circuits to build and how to integrate everything efficiently- but things are heading in good ways. Don't be thinking, either, that using ProPCBs makes the building process all that much easier -- it still takes a freaking age to put the boxes together!!!

So, here are the first pictures of the new BugCruhser08 - inside and outside!
A batch of 8 will be released in the next few days via the BugMailList (you are on it, aren't you?!)
There'll be more info going up on the main BugBrand site shortly too.
Coming soon will be a new version of the (standard) Weevil and then on to some more BugCrusher9VoltStomps...


The box features are:
Input Preamp for mic or line level
Voltage Controlled Crusher circuit - with main Crush Control plus variable CV modulation
Mixer to blend Dry / Crushed signals plus switchable phase inversion on the Crushed signal
Voltage Controlled Resonant Filter with LoPass / BandPass - with main Cutoff Control plus variable CV modulation
Output with lo (guitar-amp) or hi (line) levels
Modulation input switchable between Expression Pedal or external Control Voltage (CV - from analogue synths (standard +/-5v levels))
Electronic Bypass Switch plus external Footswitch socket


And some shots of the building process:
There are four boards within - one main board and then external boards joined via IDC headers.
One for Input / Output sockets
Two for dials and switches

More Postcards

There's more changes coming in Postcard world..
Yesterday I picked up my first batch of professionally made PCBs for the new version PostcardWeevil. The circuit is pretty much the same as the recent Postcard07, but tweaked to more compact size and efficient layout due to the open possibilities of pro-pcbs. The touch-points also seem to be even more responsive and there are multitudes of wierdy sounds resident within the little circuit.

Three lo-fi oscillators, quasi-ring-modulated together.
Five control dials and nine body-contact points.
Power starvation to send the oscs into chaos.
Mini-amp / speaker for on the move sonics.
And mini-jack output for big PA squeal power noise.

These will be hitting the BugShop right before Christmas when I'm back from work in Holland.

Announcing the BugCrusherMicro

Here's the proto of the new BugCrusher -- the Micro -- Super Simple, Super Effective!

• One knob adjustment of Rate - from fizzly highs to gurgling lows
• Zero gain/loss - your signal strength is the same going in as going out, so there's no need for level controls
• Ideal for low level or line level operation - use for guitar/bass or as a mixer send (also, the I/O is in phase, so you can easily mix the dry signal back in with the effected signal)
  
• Compact size - only 120 x 65 x 40mm (that's about the size of MXR pedals)
• Silent electronic true bypass with strong stomp switch
  
• 9v operation - internal battery or standard DC socket

Production is now imminent (plus - improved box decoration!) and a batch should be available next week (start of Dec) - join the BugBrand mailing list to hear the announcement!

AudioWeevil07 Production Run

The batch is born...
More details on the main BugBrand site

Pics from Venn 2007

There's some great pictures from this year's festival by Adam Faraday on the Venn website.
This is the end of my improvisation with Ferenc of the Hung Hangar Ensemble. An amazing pleasure to play with him.

Front Panel Engraving

After quite a time of experimentation, my cnc-engraved front panels are starting to work out really well.

The last few days I've been trying to clear some of the backlog of pcb projects picked up including:::
Fonik's SSM2044 LowPassFilter









Two Thomas Henry UD1 DrumSynths with PCBs from sMs Electronics









Thomas Henry Super Controller with PCB from Fonik
- this circuit comes from TH's Build a Better Music Synthesizer book (good book!)









PT2399 delay project - previous versions have had some niggling problems to iron out.










The technique is now relatively smooth though it still takes a while for the machining:
Front panels designed in FrontDesigner
Exported as .hpgl engraving files
Loaded into EasyCam to generate the machine files for Mach3 - set the engraving depth etc
Mach3 drives the CNC engraving. These are the first uses of custom blank panels I got made up locally (at about 1/4 of the cost of blanks from Paia!) - simple Frac sized black-anodized panels. The engraving cuts through the black surface to expose raw aluminium. The only tricky bit is to make sure you engrave deep enough, but not too deep (literally a difference of fractions of a mm)
Once engraved, the holes are drilled
..& the project is put together.

Solar Weevils - 1st Performances

SolarWeevils had their first airing at the recent Offload Festival in Bristol.

Just to recap the idea - the mini batteries are charged up during the day by the solar panels. The Weevils are silent during the day but when evening comes a light sensor kicks the sound circuit into life and the Weevils perform a dusk chorus until their power drains and they quieten for the night.

The design actually had to be changed at the last minute - tests with the SuperCapacitors from MUTR hadn't been so great, so a change was made to using miniature NiMH rechargeable batteries. These behave in a much more stable and long-lifed way and allowed the addition of LEDs driven by the 3 oscillators. Blinky, clickety, squeek-noise.

This project will be mutated sometime in the future, but there's not much sun around these parts at the moment so I reckon its hibernation time until spring.